


Through the Years

by Tkeyla



Series: BPBB Universe [3]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Community: 1_million_words, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-31
Updated: 2014-03-31
Packaged: 2018-01-17 15:43:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1393219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tkeyla/pseuds/Tkeyla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nine stories written for 1_million_words March Bingo. They all take place in the Bulletproof Baby Blankets universe. Snippets of Steve, Danny, and their kids.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ice Cubes

**Author's Note:**

> My March bingo card:
> 
>  
> 
> [](http://s1023.photobucket.com/user/tkeylasunset/media/MarchBingo.jpg.html)  
> 

  
“Shh…shh… I know, baby,” Steve said, rocking a sobbing John. “I know it hurts. Daddy’ll be right back with Boo-Boo Bunny and it’ll be all fixed up.” He kept up his one-sided conversation, trying to keep his guilt at bay. ‘Kids get hurt,’ Danny had reminded him. That didn’t make the forming bruise on John’s leg any easier for Steve to take, especially since it had been his fault.  
  
In his rush to get out the door, he had failed to notice John crawling toward him. When Steve’s boot collided with John’s leg, the screaming could have come from them both. Danny assured Steve John was more scared than hurt but his sobs hadn’t slowed.  
  
“Here we are, baby,” Danny said with in soothing voice. He had Boo-Boo Bunny, an ice cube tucked securely in his tummy. “This is will make it all better.” He handed the bunny to Steve who placed it carefully on the bruise on John’s leg. The discolored splotch was no bigger than a dime but to Steve’s eyes, it covered his entire calf.  
  
“I’m so sorry,” Steve said as he held the bunny on his leg.  
  
“He’s fine, Babe. You’ll both recovery and it will be forgotten,” Danny assured him, smoothing John’s downy hair. His sobs had turned to hiccups, his fists tightly twisted in the front of Steve’s tee shirt.  
  
“I just can’t believe….” Steve shook his head, no words adequate for how badly he felt about what had happened.  
  
“Stop beating yourself up,” Danny said gently. “He’s fine. He was more scared than anything. Go and change your shirt and you can get to work.”  
  
“Okay,” Steve agreed, standing to hand a much calmer John to Danny. “I think he needs to be changed.”  
  
“Scared the crap of him, did you?” Danny teased, following Steve upstairs. John was holding tight to his ‘blankie’ which was really an old pair of Danny’s flannel boxers. It was almost as wet with tear as Steve’s shirt.  
  
“Apparently,” Steve agreed, pulling off his wet shirt. “I’m sorry.”  
  
“Stop,” Danny said, reaching up to kiss him. “He’s fine.”  
  
“I know,” Steve sighed, buttoning up a fresh shirt.  
  
“I’m going to change him. You go to work and stop perseverating,” Danny said.  
  
“Right,” Steve agreed, kissing John on the head one last time. He had to smile when John took hold on his shirt like he couldn’t stand the thoughts of his father leaving. “I have to go bye-bye, John-John. I’ll see you tonight.”  
  
“Later,” Danny said as Steve went downstairs and Danny carried John into his room to change him. John chewed on his boxers as Danny cleaned him up. By the time he was finished, John’s tears had completely stopped. The bruise on his leg was turning purple but it really was tiny, even on John’s little leg. That it could have been so much worse was a thought Danny stopped himself from having. Lesson learned. He knew Steve would never allow it to happen again.


	2. Stripe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stripes vs Spots

“Stripe,” John pronounced, pointing at a giraffe.  
  
Danny laughed and shook his head. “No goof. Those are spots. Not stripes.”  
  
“Stripe,” John repeated, grinning up at his father who was sitting on the floor next to him.  
  
“Nope. Spots.”  
  
John flipped a couple of pages until he reached a picture of a tiger. “Spots.”  
  
“Now you’re totally being silly,” Danny told him, smiling up at Steve when he came into the living room with John’s bedtime bottle. They’d finally gotten him to give up the rest of his bottles but they couldn’t seem to get away with putting him to bed without one. That would definitely have to change before they started the potty training in earnest. They were hoping to have him completely out of diapers before their daughter arrived in the world but it was looking less and less likely. Well, two kids in diapers wasn’t the worst thing in the world.  
  
“Come on, Bud. It’s time for bed,” Steve said, reaching down for him.  
  
“One more,” John insisted, holding tight to his book and to his blankie.  
  
“In bed we can have one more story,” Steve said. “You coming?” he asked Danny over John’s head.  
  
“I’ll be up in a minute,” Danny said, watching them climb the stairs, John trying to reach his book. It was a good sign he was more interested in it than he was the bottle.  
  
Steve changed John one last time before settling him in his crib. That too would change with the arrival of the baby but there was time for that still. “Here you are, big boy.”   
  
John eagerly accepted his bottle, pointing at the book.  
  
Steve knew that was his cue and opened to the page John and Danny had been looking at. He read the story, making sure John could see all of the pictures as the animals were being described.  
  
“Stripe,” John said, pointing at the tiger.  
  
“Stripes,” Steve agreed. “And the giraffe?”  
  
“Spots,” John said.  
  
“Spots,” Steve agreed. “Do you have spots?”  
  
“No. No spots,” John said, shaking his head.  
  
“Stripes? Do you have stripes under your pjs?” Steve asked, tickling his sides and making John laugh.  
  
“Stop Daddy,” John laughed.  
  
“What are you two doing up here?” Danny asked as he came into John’s room.  
  
“I was checking to make sure John didn’t have stripes. Or spots,” Steve said, leaning down to kiss John’s forehead. He took the empty bottle, trading it for the blankie. “Go night-night now, Bud.”  
  
“Night-night,” John said, turning over onto this stomach. Before Steve and Danny got to his door, he was sound asleep.  
  
“Have you ever heard of a child who switches off at night like Bud does?” Steve asked, as always amazed at John’s sleep habits.  
  
“He makes up for it when we can’t get him up in the mornings,” Danny reminded him.  
  
“That’s true. What are you doing now?” Steve asked as they stood in the upstairs hallway.  
  
“I’m hoping to have sex with my husband. Unless he has other plans.”  
  
“Let’s call and ask him,” Steve laughed, following Danny into their bedroom and fulfilling Danny’s plans perfectly.  



	3. Squishy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boys and girls are different.

“Daddy,” John said, coming into the kitchen where Steve was cleaning up from their lunch.  
  
“Yeah Bud?” Steve asked, turning to look down at him. He could swear John was growing a foot a day but knew that was not possible. Maybe he just seemed so much bigger in comparison to Emma who wasn’t even beginning to crawl.  
  
“Emma’s diaper is squishy,” John said with a look of mild disgust on his face.  
  
“Okay. I’ll take care of it, unless you want to,” Steve joked, drying his hands.  
  
“No, no, no,” John said adamantly, following Steve into the living room. Emma was in her playpen, squealing in delight at the sight of two of her favorite people coming back to her.  
  
“Hi princess. I hear you need to be changed,” Steve said, lifting her out. She wrapped small, chubby arms around his neck, confirming John’s information. She definitely needed to be changed.  
  
He carried her upstairs, John following before settling in the rocking chair next to the changing table that had been John’s before Emma inherited it. “Did I have squishy diapers?”  
  
“All babies do,” Steve confirmed, taking Emma’s off and disposing of it. “It’s natural.”  
  
“Where’s her penis?” John asked, watching the proceedings with mild interest.  
  
“Girls don’t have a penis, Bud. Only boys,” Steve explained.  
  
“No penis?” John asked in surprise. He had one. Both his fathers had one. Surely everyone had a penis.  
  
“Girls are made differently from boys. We have a penis. They don’t.”  
  
“How do they make pee-pee?” John asked.  
  
“They have the same plumping. Most of theirs is inside. More of ours is outside,” Steve explained.  
  
“Why?” John asked, doubt in his voice.  
  
“I don’t really know why we’re built so differently. But we are.”  
  
“I don’t get it,” John said.  
  
“No one really understands. It’s just one of the many differences between boys and girls. Neither one is better. They are just different.”  
  
“Oh,” John said. “So she won’t grow one?”  
  
“No,” Steve said, picking her up from the table. “Girls don’t have them.”  
  
“Oh,” John repeated. “Auntie Kono doesn’t have one?”  
  
“No she doesn’t. Uncle Chin does,” Steve said as they went back downstairs.  
  
“How else aren’t we alike?” John asked after he’d considered this new information.  
  
“Well,” Steve said, sitting on the floor with Emma in his lap, John next to him. “One of the biggest differences is that girls have babies and boys don’t.”  
  
“I want a baby,” John announced, looking disappointed by the news his father had given him.  
  
“I’m sorry, Bud. You aren’t a girl so you won’t be having babies.”  
  
John frowned at that. “That’s not fair.”  
  
“There are a lot of men, and women, who would agree with you,” Steve confirmed.  
  
“Don’t you want a baby?” John asked him.  
  
“I have two babies,” Steve reminded with a kiss. “Daddy and I just didn’t give birth to you.”  
  
“’Cause boys don’t have babies,” John said, still trying to figure it out.  
  
“Right,” Steve agreed. “Do you want finish coloring the picture we were working on before lunch?”  
  
“When’s Daddy coming home?” John asked as he got the coloring book and crayons from the shelf.  
  
“Mmm…” Steve said, looking at his watch. “Another couple of hours.”  
  
“In time for dinner?” John asked, sitting close enough to the coffee table to color on it.  
  
“In time for dinner,” Steve confirmed. He was glad he’d temporarily side-tracked John from the topic of boys and girls. He’d have to make sure to tell Danny so he wouldn’t be taken by surprise. Or maybe he wouldn’t mention it. Why should he be the only one to face such an awkward conversation?  



	4. Eat Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma isn't interested in eating, until John gives it a try.

“Here comes the airplane,” Danny said, making sounds that were supposed to represent the engine but sounded more like a duck with the hiccups. “Open the hanger for the plane to land.”  
  
Emma stared at him, her mouth firmly closed. It didn’t matter how many times he tried, she was not going to eat her supper.  
  
“You must be hungry, Em,” Danny said in frustration. “Try a little more.”  
  
She shook her head, her blonde curls bouncing around her determined face.  
  
“All right,” Danny sighed, putting the spoon down.   
  
“How’s it going?” Steve asked as he and John came in from the backyard where they’d been playing a game of their own design. Even Steve wasn’t sure what the rules were but John laughed the entire time so that was a total win for them both.  
  
“Not good,” Danny said in frustration. “At this rate, she’s going to starve herself to…” He stopped when he saw John looking up at them, his eyes wide.  
  
“Why won’t Emma eat?” John asked.  
  
“I don’t know, Bud,” Danny said, standing up to wet the dishcloth, intending to clean Emma’s mostly clean face. Steve followed him to the sink, a hand at the small of his back.  
  
“She’ll eat, Babe. When she’s ready. Being stubborn comes naturally to her – you know that.”  
  
“Yeah,” Danny sighed. “I’ll fix her a bottle. That will get something inside her anyway.”  
  
“Good,” Steve said, turning around with the intention of getting Emma out of her highchair. He stopped, putting a light hand on Danny’s arm, nodding toward John. He had Emma’s spoon filled with her food, holding it within her reach.  
  
“You’re the Cookie Monster. I’m a cookie. Eat me,” John was saying, sounding very much like the Cookie Monster sounded.  
  
Emma laughed, accepting the spoon from John who gave her more. While Steve and Danny stood careful watch, John emptied the entire bowl, Emma eating it with an enthusiasm she rarely displayed when her fathers tried feeding her.  
  
“Well,” Steve said quietly to Danny.  
  
“Huh,” Danny said, still watching them.  
  
“M…m…m…” she said which in ‘Emma-speak’ meant she wanted more.  
  
“Can she have more?” John asked, looking up at their fathers.  
  
“Of course,” Danny agreed, reaching into the cabinet for a jar of pureed carrots. “Here you go.”  
  
“More cookies,” John announced when Danny had the jar emptied into Emma’s bowl. She even waited with minimum fuss as Danny wiped the food from her face.  
  
“M…m…m…” she said, reaching toward John who had the spoon loaded and ready.  
  
“Here it comes,” John said. “Get ready to eat me.”  
  
Emma clapped her hands, smiling happily as John gave her the carrots.  
  
“I don’t quite know how I feel about this,” Danny confided quietly to Steve.  
  
“Yeah,” Steve had to agree. “I was thinking the same thing. It’s…weird.”  
  
“At least she’s eating,” Danny told him in relief. “If John can feed her, then we’ll let John feed her.”  
  
“Yeah,” Steve repeated, watching John spoon the food into Emma’s waiting mouth. He wished they’d known sooner that was the answer. It would have saved them both a lot of sleepless nights. He’d ask Kono tomorrow why she thought John succeeded when he and Danny had so miserably failed. She might have some insight to provide into yet another mystery of parenthood.  
  



	5. Diamond (free square)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a diamond if Emma wants it to be.

It was the last ‘official’ Saturday of summer. Come Monday, John would be starting kindergarten. Steve and Danny had mixed emotions about this milestone although John was very excited about the upcoming adventure that would be school.  
  
Steve and Danny had decided they should hike up to see the petroglyphs, after Danny had extracted Steve’s solemn promise not to break his arm or any other important part of his body.   
  
They had told John and Emma about going up to see the really, really old pictures on the side of the rock. John expressed interest in seeing them, thinking it sounded ‘cool.’ Emma didn’t really understand, asking if SpongeBob Squarepants would be on the rocks. When they told her no, she shrugged and dragged John back to the game they had been playing.   
  
Saturday morning dawned clear and cloudless – a perfect day for a hike. Danny made sure they had plenty of water and food, clean clothes for both the kids, and the first aid kit. Steve shouldered the backpack with no trouble when they reached the trail, Danny holding tight to Emma’s hand. She wanted to race after her brother who was a few feet up the trail already but her fathers knew she’d never be able to keep up with John.  
  
“Daddy,” Emma said when they’d been hiking for a while. She was tugging on Danny’s hand, her feet dragging. “Daddy.”  
  
“Yeah baby?” Danny said, squatting down to face her.  
  
“I tired,” Emma said with a frown marring her round face.   
  
“Okay. How about if I carry you a little while? You can rest and then walk when you’re ready,” Danny said.  
  
“John-John’s not tired,” she said in accusation, staring at her brother as he was talking to Steve, his words too faint for Danny to hear.  
  
“John’s older and has longer legs. If we’d brought him when he was your age, he would have needed to be carried,” Danny told her.  
  
“Weally?” she asked, watching her father closely.  
  
“Really,” Danny promised, standing up and holding out his arms in invitation.  
  
“’Kay. Little bit of westing,” she decided, letting Danny pick her up.  
  
“Little bit,” he agreed, taking her to join Steve and John who were waiting for them.  
  
“Little legs got tired?” Steve asked, tickling Emma’s knee and making her giggle.  
  
“Little westing,” Emma told him, looking down at John. “You tired?”  
  
“Uh huh,” John said. “Daddy said we’ll stop for a snack over the next ridge.”  
  
“’Kay,” Emma agreed, turning in Danny’s arms to see where they were going.   
  
It didn’t take especially long for them to top the small rise that had several leafy trees to provide shade to their little picnic. Steve unshouldered the backpack as Danny put down Emma, watching her run after John. They knew not to leave sight of their fathers, running back to check in and have some fruit and water.  
  
“I guess she’s not so tired now,” Steve said, giving Danny an apple.  
  
“Apparently not,” Danny agreed. They watched as Emma squatted down, intently focused on something in the grass.  
  
“Look, John-John,” Emma said, pointing to whatever it was that had caught her attention.  
  
“It’s just a rock,” John said before returning to his fathers. He sat in front of Steve, leaning back again him to rest.  
  
“Comfortable?” Steve asked, kissing the top of his head.  
  
“Very,” John said, squirming a little. “Little bit hard.”  
  
“So’s his head,” Danny said with a wink over at Steve.  
  
Any retort Steve might have made was curtailed by Emma returning, carefully cradling something in her hands. Danny sent up a silent prayer that it was not some dangerous insect that was going to cause its own medical emergency.  
  
“Look Daddies,” she said in excitement when she stopped, lowering her hands to make sure they could see what she was holding. “A diamond.”  
  
Danny and Steve looked into her hand to see a shiny rock taking up most of her palm. It was shaped a little like a diamond, pointed on one side, smooth on the other. It was cloudy although it did reflect the sunshine, making it seem to sparkle.  
  
“I don’t think that’s a diamond, Em,” Steve said. “I think it’s quartz.”  
  
“It’s a diamond,” Emma informed him sternly. “It’s shiny. And pointy. Like Auntie Kono’s diamond.”  
  
“Auntie’s diamond is clear,” John reminded her. “This isn’t clear.”  
  
“It’s my diamond,” Emma told them, her mind made up. “It’s a pretty diamond.”  
  
“It’s very pretty,” Danny had to agree, trading a glance with Steve.  
  
“We can’t take it home, baby,” Steve told her gently. “This is a national reserve. You can’t take anything out of it.”  
  
“It’s my diamond,” Emma repeated, storm clouds gathering over her head. The guys had a feeling that this was a fight they were destined to lose.  
  
“We can’t remove anything from the reserve, Em,” Danny tried, glancing again at Steve. Steve could only shrug. What was more important? Following the rule or preventing Emma from crying?  
  
“My diamond,” she said louder, closing her hands over it, a fat tear rolling down her face.  
  
“All right,” Steve soothed, wiping up her tears. “Just this once, we’ll pretend we don’t know the rule.”  
  
“You’re policemen,” John said, staring at his fathers. “You can’t break the law.”  
  
“It isn’t a law, really,” Danny told him. “It’s a… uhmm… suggestion.”  
  
“A suggestion?” John repeated, looking at Danny in accusation.  
  
“John,” Steve said, stopping when his son turned his unhappy face to him. Steve was torn between wanting to avoid Emma’s tears and John’s disapproval. “It’s only a rock. It won’t hurt the park if we take it with us. And it will make Emma happy to pretend it’s a diamond.”  
  
“It’s not,” John said with a huff, settling back against Steve and accepting a banana to eat.   
  
“And your blankie is really boxer shorts,” Steve reminded him with a kiss.  
  
“ _Daddy_ ,” John said.  
  
“ _Daddy_ what?” Steve asked with a laugh.  
  
“I don’t carry it now,” John informed him.  
  
“All right,” Steve said, looking over at Emma who was telling Danny all about her diamond. He had a feeling that before it was all over, the ‘diamond’ would end up in a bracelet or necklace, even though it was too big for her to wear. Well, if having it strung on a sturdy wire made her happy, that’s what her fathers would do. Wasn’t that their job? To bring as much happiness into the lives of their children as they possible could?  



	6. People Change, Memories Don't

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes our friends aren't exactly the way we remember them.

Danny had settled John into bed when he heard the front door open. It had only taken one and half stories before John had fallen soundly asleep. He always settled down much more quickly than Emma who insisted on ‘just one more story’ before she could go to sleep. Over active imagination was their determination as to why she couldn’t get to sleep so quickly as her brother.  
  
Steve had gone out with an old Navy buddy who was in Hawaii for a week. Steve had invited Danny to go to dinner with them but Danny declined. He knew they would have a better time talking about places they may or may not have been and things they may or may not have done if he wasn’t there. Steve appreciated his consideration even though he would have liked Danny to have come if he wanted to be there.  
  
“Hey babe,” Danny said from the top of the steps as Steve stopped at the door to untie his shoes. “I expected you home later than this.”  
  
“Yeah,” Steve said, waiting for Danny to come down to the living room. “I thought I would be too.”  
  
“You want to tell me about it?” Danny asked, settling on the couch with Steve who had a thoughtful expression on his face.  
  
“I remember Brenner as smart and open minded. Tonight he seemed so different, so much… less,” Steve said in a considering tone.  
  
“Less?” Danny asked, watching Steve mentally turn over what he meant by that.  
  
“He said some things that I can’t believe he used to think. I wouldn’t have wanted to be friends with him if he’d been so prejudiced then,” Steve said, shaking his head.  
  
“Prejudiced how?” Danny prompted.  
  
“His most recent assignment was in the middle east. He called the interpreters camel jockeys. And he made some comments to our waitress that made me want to punch him in the throat,” Steve said.  
  
“What did she say?”   
  
“She looked at me like I had betrayed her. It was Lolola, one of Chin’s cousins – at the Aloha Room. I over-tipped her when we left. It doesn’t change what Brenner did but maybe she’ll forgive me,” Steve said.  
  
“You weren’t the one saying it,” Danny reminded him. “And you couldn’t know he was going to be like that.”  
  
“I hope Lolola doesn’t tell Chin until after Brenner leaves or it could be ugly,” Steve said.  
  
“You don’t remember him being like that?” Danny asked.  
  
“No. He always had strong opinions but not like that. He’s not the man I used to know,” Steve decided.  
  
“Well, you know what my Grandma Giordano used to say,” Danny said in sympathy.  
  
“She used to say a lot things, apparently,” Steve said with a laugh.  
  
“She was a fount of wisdom,” Danny agreed. “She always said to me _people change, memories don’t.”_  
  
“She was very wise, your grandma,” Steve said. “You wouldn’t happen to have any of her chicken cacciatore left, would you?”  
  
“Didn’t you go out for dinner?” Danny asked, standing to go into the kitchen. It wouldn’t take long to reheat the cacciatore that was left over from the dinner he and the kids had shared. There was plenty left even though Grace and Alicia had both been eating with them. ‘You can’t make just a little,’ Danny always reminded Steve when he razzed him about the amount of sauce he ended up making.  
  
“I lost my appetite,” Steve said, getting the leftovers out of the refrigerator.  
  
“That bad, huh?” Danny asked, accepting a cold beer as Steve reheated the chicken.  
  
“That bad,” Steve agreed, leaning against the cabinet to wait. “Did I miss anything good at dinner?”  
  
Danny told Steve about the conversations that had taken place, Steve laughing at the argument between John and Alicia as to whether the North Pole or the South Pole was colder.  
  
“Why did they care?” Steve asked.  
  
“I have no idea. I missed the beginning of the argument. They finally Googled it and discovered that the South Pole is much colder.”  
  
“Didn’t you know that?” Steve asked, taking the chicken out of the oven.  
  
“Maybe? I don’t know. It’s kind of… trivial, really.”  
  
“Yeah,” Steve agreed.  
  
“Have you ever been? To the South Pole?” Danny asked, following him into the dining room.  
  
“No. I was in Siberia once. That was plenty cold for me,” Steve said with a shiver.  
  
“Emma was glad the North Pole wasn’t as cold because she was worried about Santa and his reindeer. We assured her that his house and workshop are well insulated and he won’t catch cold.”  
  
“She would worry about his health,” Steve said with a smile. “That’s our girl.”  
  
“Yep,” Danny agreed, leaning closer to wipe some sauce off Steve’s chin. “She is 100% Williams-McGarrett.”  
  
“What would Grandma Giordano say about Emma?” Steve asked.  
  
“How incredibly lucky we are,” Danny assured him with a smile.  
  
Steve could only agree with that.  
  



	7. Investigations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve would rather face armed terrorists than an auditorium full of elementary school-aged children.

Steve sat on the stage of the auditorium in Emma and John’s school, looking out over the students sitting in their tidy rows. Emma was closer to the front and couldn’t stop waving at him, her face lit up in delight at having her father in her school.  
  
He had tried everything possible to get out of participating in Career Day but ultimately he had no choice but to be at the school at 2:00 in the afternoon. There were five other parents on the stage who would talk about their jobs. Steve would be the last to speak.  
  
When he’d asked Danny why he had to speak at Career Day, Danny hadn’t been able to suppress his laugh. “The kids nominated their parents. A committee narrowed down the suggestions to twenty careers. Then the students voted for their top choices. From what I hear, you won 42% of the votes. The other 58% was spread out over the rest of the parents.”  
  
“Well,” Steve said when given that news. “I don’t really have any response to that.”  
  
“You are the bomb,” Kono piped up from where she was eating her lunch.   
  
“More likely he _is_ a bomb. Or has one,” Chin added, smiling at Steve when he frowned at him.  
  
“No bombs in school,” Kono reminded him sternly, her smile spoiling her tone.  
  
“Why can’t any of you lot do it?” Steve asked, eyeing each of them in turn.  
  
“Not their mom,” Kono said, shaking her head.  
  
“Not their dad,” Chin added.  
  
“Not nominated,” Danny reminded him. “You know half the time the kids forget I still work here. Since I’m only here when they are at school.”  
  
Steve sighed, knowing defeat when he stared it in the face. “Fine. What does this Career Day involve for me?”  
  
“You tell them what you do. What your day is like,” Kono said. “If you were a regular policeman, you’d tell them about the training you received. You’ll have to use us for that part of it.”  
  
“Do I show pictures? Use visual aids?” Steve asked, his eyes straying over to the gun cabinet.  
  
“You cannot take guns into the school,” Danny emphasized.  
  
“No hand grenades,” Kono added.  
  
“No explosives of any type,” Chin said.  
  
“Do the other parents show pictures?” Steve asked.  
  
“Some do. Accountants don’t. Excel spreadsheets are never especially exciting,” Danny pointed out.  
  
“You could show crime scene photos,” Chin suggested.  
  
“No blood. No gore. Nothing that would give them nightmares,” Danny clarified.  
  
Steve sighed again, frowning at the three others. “I blame all of you.”  
  
“ _Brah_ ,” Chin said, shaking his head. “We don’t go to the school.”  
  
“And we’re not the boss,” Kono said.  
  
“It isn’t so different from the tours when the kids come through,” Danny assured him.  
  
“It’s completely different,” Steve said. “I can’t put them in the interview room so they know what it feels like.”  
  
“Lock them up, you mean,” Chin laughed.  
  
Steve shrugged, looking over at Danny. “ _Really_. What do I tell them?”  
  
“We’ll work on it, Babe,” Danny promised. “Right now we need to get back to the work you will be so eloquently describing.”  
  
“Roger that,” Kono agreed, leaving the clean-up to Danny because he always did it anyway.  
  
 _That_ particular conversation had taken place four weeks earlier. Danny had helped him with his remarks, even calling the school to clarify what would and would not be appropriate for Steve to say. Would carefully chosen photos be acceptable? The school had provided excellent suggestions and had said that photos would be fine so long as they were age appropriate.  
  
Steve was half-listening to the parent that was presenting right before him. She was talking about being a professional hula dancer, describing the moves and demonstrating how they told stories with their hands. She showed a brief video, the children applauding appreciatively when she had concluded her presentation.  
  
“Next up,” the principal was saying when Steve tuned back in, “is Lieutenant Commander Steve Williams-McGarrett. You all know that he is in charge of the Hawaii Five-0 taskforce and he’s going to tell us what that involves. Commander,” the principal said, inviting Steve to the podium.  
  
Steve refused to admit to himself that the applause from the children was adding to his nervousness. This was silly. He’d faced armed terrorists and defused bombs with less anxiety than facing a roomful of Emma and John’s classmates. Maybe that was part of what was causing his nervousness. Not only were Emma and John there, but Alicia and Zachary were as well. That should have made it easier but their presence only seemed to make him more nervous.  
  
Steve stepped behind the podium where his remarks were ready and waiting for him. He took a deep breath and started, hoping he didn’t sound as nervous to the kids as he did inside his own head.  
  
“It’s really all about thorough, proper investigations,” he heard himself saying after he’d been talking for several minutes. He glanced down at Emma who was beaming proudly up at him. Somehow that helped calm his nerves and he was able to relax, telling the stories he and Danny had decided were well-suited to the children listening. Some of the photos he showed in illustration brought gasps from the audience, especially the one of the Camaro upside down.  
  
“We weren’t hurt,” Steve assured them. “The Camaro wasn’t so lucky. We had to get a new one.”  
  
He talked for several more minutes before summing up and thanking the children for their attention. It took a moment before they started applauding, so caught up in his stories they hadn’t immediately realized he’d stopped.  
  
The principal then thanked all the parents for coming, dismissing the children and their charges.   
  
Alicia, John, Zachary, and Emma swam up stream, wanting to talk to Steve before leaving with their classes. Several other children tried to join them but were stopped by their teachers. “Because he’s not your father,” Steve heard one of the teachers say in explanation.  
  
“You did great,” Alicia told him with a radiant smile.  
  
“Awesome,” John agreed, high fiving his father.  
  
“Quite enlightening,” Zach said with an enthusiastic nod.  
  
“You were the best, Daddy. The best ever,” Emma said, jumping into his arms and hugging him tight. “You are the best.”  
  
“Thank you all,” Steve said, kissing Emma before putting her back down. “I think you need to get to your classes,” he said, looking up at the principal who was waiting patiently to escort them back.  
  
“It’s almost time to go home,” Emma said. “Can’t we come with you?”  
  
“You have another hour of school,” Steve pointed out. “And I need to get back to work. I’ll see you tonight at dinner.”  
  
“We’re coming,” Alicia announced happily.  
  
“Good,” Steve agreed. “Go to class. I’ll see you at home.”  
  
“Okay,” they agreed reluctantly, leaving with the principal and looking over their shoulders until they were out of the auditorium.  
  
“Fabulous job, Babe,” Danny said, surprising Steve by appearing at his elbow.  
  
“What are you doing here?” Steve asked with a bright smile.  
  
“Dr. Greer invited me. But I didn’t want to make you even more nervous. So I was in the back where you couldn’t see me.”  
  
“Not like you are taller than the fifth graders,” Steve teased.  
  
Danny snorted at that, reaching up to kiss him lightly. “Go back to work. I’m going to the grocery store so we’ll have enough food to feed the entire local chapter of the Steve Williams-McGarrett Fan Club.”  
  
“Stop,” Steve said, kissing him again.   
  
“You know it’s true. Grace is coming. Anything special you want to eat?”  
  
“I don’t care,” Steve said. “I know it will be delicious.”  
  
“You are such a flatterer,” Danny said with a wink, walking out of the auditorium with him. They went their separate ways, Steve to round up the bad guys, Danny to round up food for various and assorted children.  



	8. Damn it, Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny goes on strike. Steve makes amends.

****  
Steve entered the house, pausing at the front door to unlace and remove his boots. He was surprised to look over at the couch to see Danny sprawled out on it. His right arm was flung over his eyes, his left dangling from the cushions.  
  
“Babe?” Steve said, standing over him. “What’s wrong?”  
  
“Nothing’s wrong,” Danny said. “I’m on strike.”  
  
“On strike?” Steve said, sitting on the edge of the couch by Danny’s hip. “I don’t know what that means.”  
  
“On strike. Labor stoppage. Refusal to do any further work,” Danny said.  
  
“I know what it means to go on strike,” Steve clarified. “I don’t know what it means that you are on strike.”  
  
Danny lowered his arm and sighed, looking up at Steve. “How was your day?”  
  
“Better than yours from the available evidence. What happened?” Steve asked.  
  
“That’s a loaded question,” Danny said, scooting up the couch so Steve could sit properly on it. “ My day started with taking John and Emma to their dentist appointments. No cavities, thankfully.”  
  
“Where are they now?” Steve asked, wondering why they hadn’t come to see him like they always did when he got home.  
  
“Emma’s at Maria’s sleep-over. John’s at his round-up thing.”  
  
“Oh right. That’s this weekend,” Steve said. “What happened after the dentist? You aren’t on strike because the kids aren’t here, are you?”  
  
“Partially,” Danny said. “After leaving the dentist, we had to go shopping. Emma heard from Dancy who heard from Lukikina that the theme for Maria’s birthday party was Disney Princesses, not Cowgirl Rodeo like we thought it was.”  
  
“The invitations said Cowgirl Rodeo,” Steve said with a frown of confusion.  
  
“Right? Well, apparently she had a change of heart after they were sent out. So we had to make an emergency run to buy a Disney Princess gift. Once we secured one that Emma thought was _way cool_ , they decided they were hungry. So after a quick stop at the Rainbow Drive-Inn, we went to the homeless shelter.”  
  
“The homeless shelter,” Steve repeated in recognition.  
  
“Yep,” Danny said. “It’s the third Friday of the month.”  
  
“And I completely forgot,” Steve said in apology.  
  
“I tried calling you but Duke said you were staking out the warehouses so I knew you weren’t going to be able to come. Fortunately, Max and Kamekona remembered so they came and helped.”  
  
“Emma’s too young still,” Steve said, his guilt coming through that he’d neglected to fulfill their monthly obligation to the homeless shelter. They only cooked once a month. How could he have forgotten that?  
  
“Edith had her wrapping the silverware in napkins while we made seven pounds of chicken salad. John is sworn off celery for the rest of his life.”  
  
“I can imagine,” Steve said. “I’m really sorry we forgot.”  
  
“I know. You couldn’t reschedule the raid at any rate. After we finished there, John wanted to get a new canteen so we went and got an official version. A knock-off was not going to be adequate. By the time we got home, it was almost 3:00 and Dancy’s mom said she’d be here at 3:30. Emma hadn’t packed and discovered she didn’t have any clean pajamas. We did a very fast load of laundry although I think her pjs may still be damp. John didn’t seem interested in packing for his overnight so I had to coax him into it.”  
  
“I thought he was excited about it,” Steve said.  
  
“He was. But… I don’t know,” Danny said with a shrug. “Something about roughing it?”  
  
“He thought he wouldn’t need clean clothes?” Steve asked.  
  
“He said you wouldn’t take a change of clothes. You’d wear the same ones the entire time.”  
  
“Oh,” Steve said. “What’d you say?”  
  
“That he is not a SEAL nor is he a grown man. Therefore, he would be taking clean clothes and he would be wearing them.”  
  
Steve nodded at that. What was there to say?  
  
“After John left, I did four more loads of laundry, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, vacuumed, and mopped. Now I’m on strike.”  
  
“I can see why,” Steve said in sympathy. “Let me take you out to dinner.”  
  
“Okay. But not yet,” Danny said, putting a warm hand on Steve’s arm. “I know I agreed to be mostly full-time dad. And I don’t regret it.”  
  
“But?” Steve said, knowing there was more to come from Danny’s tone.  
  
“Before we were married, you were the neat freak. You did my laundry, your laundry, cleaned the house like a man possessed. I know better than anyone how hard your job is, Babe. But….”  
  
“But I need to help more around the house,” Steve said, his eyes looking down at where Danny was still touching him.  
  
“I hate saying it. I hate thinking it. But there are days when it’s overwhelming. I admit it. I love you and I love the kids, all of them. But there are times when I feel like I can’t keep up. I know it’s partially because it’s summer vacation. It’s easier when they are in school. And I love being with them. I… just…”  
  
“I understand,” Steve said, finally looking up to meet Danny’s eyes. His held guilt and a measure of anger. The anger was reflected in the line between his eyebrows and the muscle clinching in his jaw.  
  
“I’m sorry you’re angry,” Danny said. “That’s why I hesitated to say anything at all.”  
  
“I’m not angry you told me. I’m angry at myself. And maybe a little bit at you,” Steve admitted.  
  
“How is that different than being angry I told you?”  
  
“Because you should have told me soon. Or I should have seen it sooner,” Steve said, standing up abruptly. “Dammit, I’m not a mind a reader.”  
  
“Whoa,” Danny said, holding up a hand. “This anger is out of proportion. I’m not blaming you.”  
  
“You aren’t? I’m the one who doesn’t do the laundry any longer,” Steve told him.  
  
“If I’d asked you to do the laundry tomorrow, would you have?” Danny asked.  
  
“Of course. But you never ask,” Steve said.  
  
“No, I never ask. And that’s on me. That’s why I’m telling you now – I need a hand. That’s not your fault.”  
  
“I’m sorry,” Steve said, sitting back by him. “I think we should hire a maid.”  
  
“A maid,” Danny said, considering it. “Like once a week?”  
  
“Twice a week,” Steve said with a shrug. “Whatever would help you the most. I know keeping the house clean can be overwhelming, what with the parade that is always trooping through.”  
  
“Can we afford a maid?” Danny asked, making Steve laugh.  
  
“You know as well as I do that we can. I’m sure one of the cousins has a cousin that does housecleaning. We’ll call them tomorrow and ask.”  
  
“All right,” Danny agreed, leaning closer to kiss Steve. “Now you can take me to dinner.”  
  
“Good. Where do you want to go?”  
  
“Upstairs,” Danny whispered, licking Steve’s neck just below his ear. “I happen to know there are clean, fresh sheets on our bed.”  
  
“So we should go mess them up?” Steve whispered back.  
  
“Exactly,” Danny confirmed, taking Steve’s hand and following him upstairs to untidy their bedroom.  



	9. Motorbike

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny knows what Steve is thinking. The answer is no even before the question is asked.

“No,” Danny said without glancing over at the webpage Steve was studying.  
  
“No what?” Steve said innocently, shifting his laptop so it was harder for Danny to see the screen.  
  
“No, you are not buying a motorbike.”  
  
“I can if I want,” Steve said. He realized that he sounded suspiciously like John or Emma when he said it. Didn’t make it any less true. He was a grown man. He could buy himself a motorcycle if he wanted one.  
  
“You can but you aren’t,” Danny said. “I don’t want John or Emma on it. I don’t want to worry about you crashing into a tree or having a truck smash you to a million pieces.”  
  
“Chin has never crashed his.”  
  
“Chin is not the adrenaline junky you are,” Danny reminded him.  
  
“I’m not an….”  
  
“Oh please,” Danny interrupted. “Don’t even try that on me.”  
  
“I don’t think you are in charge of my decision to buy a motorbike or not,” Steve tried.  
  
“Okay,” Danny said.   
  
“Okay? Okay? It’s okay for me to buy it?” Steve asked, looking again the two-wheeled red temptress on his screen.  
  
“Not, it is not okay for you to buy it. I will let you believe I’m not in charge of the decision if that’s what makes you feel better,” Danny told him.  
  
“You will allow me to believe,” Steve said, tilting his head to study Danny. “You really aren’t the boss of me.”  
  
“Okay,” Danny said, closing his laptop and scooting down the bed.  
  
“Stop patronizing me,” Steve said, looking down at him.  
  
“Okay,” Danny said with a yawn.  
  
“And stop saying okay,” Steve demanded. “I am buying this motorcycle.”  
  
“Then you’ll have to rent some place to store it. I am in charge of the safety of our children. A motorcycle is directly contrary to their best interest,” Danny said reasonably.   
  
“ _We_ are responsible for their safety,” Steve said.  
  
“Then you know why you can’t buy that motorcycle,” Danny said with a yawn.  
  
Steve sighed, closing his laptop. “I hate when you’re right.”  
  
“I know, Babe. It’s a burden I’ve learned to bear.”  



End file.
